


Up Against It

by fredbassett



Category: Primeval
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-07
Updated: 2014-02-07
Packaged: 2018-01-11 12:09:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1172901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fredbassett/pseuds/fredbassett
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Under attack in the ARC from Future Predators, Jess just has to cope as best she can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Up Against It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreamer_98](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamer_98/gifts).



For someone who professed never to have been in the field in his life, her boss certainly knew how to stay calm when his life was threatened. Jess forcibly reminded herself that James Lester had already survived one murderous attack by a future predator in the very heart of his empire and she very much hoped that he – and by extension, her – would survive another one.

But she wouldn’t have wanted to bet her favourite shoes on that being the case, although if she lost the bet, she wouldn’t have to worry about the integrity of her shoe collection…

Jess’s office chair made a satisfying thwacking nose as it connected with the predator’s head. The predator was forced to its bony knees by the blow, but it didn’t stay down for more than a moment. It shrugged off the next blow and ripped the chair from Lester’s hands, hurling to one side and sending computer equipment flying across the room. Jess winced, and looked around for something to use as a weapon.

A half-full coffee mug was all that came to hand. She threw it anyway. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.

The creature grappled with Lester. Blood blossomed on the front of his once pristine white shirt and she watched in horror as he was slammed back hard against one of the roof pillars. She stifled a cry and continued her hunt for a weapon. The EMD rifle Lester had taken from the armoury was out of charge now, but it made a very satisfactory club. She swung it by the barrel and felt the force of the blow jar her arm as the blow connected with the back of the predator’s head.

The predator shook its head, turning to her with an open-mouthed snarl. Blood tinted saliva dropped from its jaws in a slimy trail. Gritting her teeth, Jess jabbed the butt of the rifle hard at its teeth. The resulting crunching noise turned her stomach sour and she felt the fiery taste of bile in the back of her throat. The creature raked one three-clawed forearm at her face and she avoided the ripping talons by no more than a hair’s breadth.

A chair was propelled toward the predator, sent on its way by a hard kick from Lester, still slumped on the vinyl floor. She caught a brief glimpse of stripy socks and heard his grunt of pain. The chair bought her a moment’s breathing space that she did her best to turn to her advantage. Swinging the rifle like a club again, she hit out at their assailant, knowing it was no time for squeamishness. The skin over its hairless skull split open and dark blood flowed sluggishly from the wound.

A second blow hit home. Jess closed her eyes against the horror of what she was about to do and simply kept pounding the rifle down as hard as she could, like a pestle smashing garlic in a mortar. She could tell by the sickening crunches she could both hear and feel that her aim was still true.

“You can stop now, Jess.” Lester’s voice sounded strangely loud in her head and she wondered if he’d had to shout to get her attention. She opened her eyes, trying to look at him rather than down at the bloody mess at her feet.

Lester’s face was horribly pale and the front of his shirt was now awash with blood. She dropped to her knees next to him, keeping her makeshift club close at hand, just in case another predator appeared.

“Lester?” She slipped out of her jacket and wadded it up into a ball before pressing it to his chest, ignoring his gasp of pain. She knew that she had to try to staunch the blood flow somehow, even if it hurt him. “Lester, talk to me, please!” She knew she probably sounded like a scared five-year-old, but she had to get him to stay with her.

He managed to dredge up a small smile from somewhere. “Yes, Jess?”

“Don’t die on me, please!”

A breathy laugh escaped his bloodless lips. “I’ll do my best.”

“Good.” Her own breath caught in her throat and tears stung her eyes. “I’ve just got you trained. I don’t want to have to break in a new boss.” She took hold of his hand and pressed it to the now blood-soaked jacket. “Hold that there.”

She pushed the mangled corpse of the dead predator away with one foot and did the best to build a barricade of up-turned tables around them, hoping that it might provide some shelter from unfriendly eyes. From the look of pain on Lester’s face, she knew she had precious little chance of getting him as far as his office and attempting to hole up in there.

Pillowing Lester’s head on her lap, Jess leaned back against the pillar and did her best to make him comfortable while continuing to keep up the pressure on his chest wound. She knew you were meant to talk reassuringly to a casualty in an attempt to keep them conscious, but that rather went against the need not to attract attention to themselves, so she just held his hand with her free hand, and squeezed his fingers to remind him that she was still with him.

When she heard the tell-tale snuffling that heralded the arrival of another predator, Jess stiffened and reached for the weapon. “I need you to press down, James,” she said softly, not even knowing now whether he could hear her or not. “Keep pressing down on your chest, please…”

Before she had the chance to move, the crackle of a fully-charged EMD weapon discharging told her that help had arrived. The predator crumpled to the ground, but Becker hit it with another charge, just to make sure.

The sight of his reassuring smile was quite possibly the nicest thing she’d ever seen in her life.

She squeezed Lester’s hand hard. “He got here in time, James, I told you he would.”

Lester’s eyes flickered open and he gave her a slight smile. “Thank you, Jess.” His next words came out at barely more than a whisper, but still brought a wide smile to her face. “I think an extra day’s holiday is in order for this. And a shopping trip for some new clothes, at my expense.”

He was going to be all right. She just knew it.


End file.
